Paisa Region
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Paisa (pl. Paisas ) A person from the “Paisa region” in Colombia, South America. Located in the north west of the country. The region is formed by the Colombian departamentos or "states" of Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío. The main cities are Medellín, Pereira, Manizales, Armenia, Envigado, Rionegro and Caucasia.
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[edit] History
The region was first discovered by the Spanish explorer Mariscal Jorge Robledo, he founded Cartago in 1540, and Santa Fe de Antioquia in 1541. The capital city is Medellín, Colombia's second largets city with a metropolitan population of 3.5 million.
Paisas have their own cultural identities linked to one the most mountainous region of colonial South America. Its first colonial governor was Don Gaspar de Rodas. Most of the Native American the Nutibara had either died before the arrival of the Spanish or were killed by European illness the 16th and 17th centuries, to be replaced by European immigrants searching initially for gold.
During the 17th and 18th century Basque families from Northern Spain settled in the Aburra valley where Medellín and Envigado are located, as well as small towns in eastern Antioquia, such as Marinilla, El Retiro and El Santuario. This part of Antioquia reminded these families of northern Spain. Additionally, the region lacked gold and had few indigenous, leading to small farms, European intermarriage, a strong work ethic and Catholic religious practice.
The very mountainous region isolated itself from the rest of Colombia from the 17th until the mid 19th century when the Antioquia expansion began. This expansion was an internal migration from Antioquia to the southern "The Old Caldas" what today is Caldas, Risaralda and Quindio. It was during the 19th centuray that the Paisa region began to industrialize itself with the profits from coffee growing. After 1910, industrialization became a motor of economic development for the region and Colombia.
[edit] Paisa ancestry
Their first ancestors are primarily europeans immigrants from Extremadura, Spain (16th century), Andalucía, (17th century), and the Basque region in nothern Spain. These immigrants - many arriving as family units and not just single men - made a big impact and contribution to this region's culture, especially architecturally and industrially speaking. To this day, paisas speak Spanish with a distinct castillian sounding "S", have a strong Catholic faith, are family oriented and more conservative than other Colombians. Basque last names are especially common in the region, a few jews "marranos" converted to catholicism during the holy inquisition and blended in the region. However, mestizos make up at least 25% of the region, stemming from intermixing with the original indigenous Katíos and Tahamíes, which were decimated during the early colonial period.
[edit] Economy
The main economic activities are a strong industrial - textiles, appliances, automobiles, chemicals - and service oriented - healthcare, tourism, fashion, and retail economy in the Urban areas and coffee growing, which includes the Colombian Coffee-Growers Axis, Ecotourism, cattle raising, flower growing and gold mining in the rural areas.
[edit] Gastronomy
A typical dish of the region, named la bandeja paisa (the paisa dish), is generally comprised of carne asada (grilled steak) or carne molida (finely ground grilled steak), chicharrón (fried pork rind), rice, red beans, a slice of avocado, sweet fried plantains, a fried egg, a small white corn arepa, and sometimes chorizo (sausage). It is a very popular dish in Colombian restaurants in Europe and the United States.
[edit] Famous Paisas
• Alvaro Uribe: Actual president of Colombia.
• Pablo Escobar: Leader of the Medellín Cartel "in 1989 Forbes magazine had listed him as the seventh richest man in the world".
• Cesar Gaviria: Former OEA Secretary.
• Juanes: International Star, singer and song writer.
• Fernando Botero: Painter & Artist
• Debora Arango: Painter & Artist
• Claudia Molina: Model on Sabado Gigante
• Juan Pablo Ángel: Football Player
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